Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters (Kingdom Hearts/Final Fantasy) in this story. All of these graphics belong to Square-Enix!

Warning: Shounen-ai, yaoi, slash, male/male relationships, gay, homosexual... whatever you want to call it. Oh, and split personality disorder..

Author's Note: What can I say? Sometimes, I get bored.. Long wait. Next Chapter.

Pachinko

8

ChApTeR: eIgHt

8

A long gash ran down the side of his arm, but it was thin and hardly bleeding. His shirt was disheveled, his hair out of place, and his pants were hanging very loosely off of his hips because his brother had stolen his belt. He rubbed the gash on his arm and touched his upper lip. There was blood on his fingers because he had gotten hit and his braces had impaled on his lips. It had been an awful fight between him and his brother and it was still continuing now.

"Why don't you just give up already? Call it quits?" his brother's voice was sly and his eyes were snake-like. He didn't look half as bad as the other; his clothing and hair were messy, but he had only received a bloody nose and finger prints around his wrist from where he had been grabbed.

Their fight was at a stalemate. Both were refusing to give up.

"Oh, what's this? Not going to talk now? Well, I have ways to make you talk, Riku." his voice was evil, twisted, and with a quick movement, he had grabbed Riku's kitten (who was called Sora) off of the floor.

The small animal struggled briefly in the other's grasp. It was a black kitten with white spots and it was Riku's prized possession. His eyes went wide and he went towards his brother, but quickly stopped. And now he saw what his brother had been talking about all along. A way to make him talk.

He had grabbed Sora by his neck and he flung open the window. Riku stood in the middle of their bedroom and his brother stood at the other end, the window open, and the kitten hanging outside of it. Of course, since they were in an apartment building (and living on the twelfth floor), Riku panicked.

"Ok! Ok, I'm sorry! Please don't. Don't throw Sora out the window. He didn't do anything wrong!" Riku's chest was rising and falling quickly. His pet kitten meowed and struggled and Riku's brother's grin widened.

"I think kitty wants to go. Don't you, little kitty?" his eyes were wicked and Riku felt his own eyes mist over. His kitten was his only friend. He was homeschooled. Their mother didn't believe in public school. And the tenants of the apartment complex were... shady characters.

"No! I'm sorry! Oh, God, please don't! I'm begging you!" Riku did the only thing he could and get down on his hands and knees, his head bowed with shame. His brother's cruel laugh was all that could be hard for quite a few moments.

"Oh? Well, if you're begging.." Riku looked up, "then... I guess..." and with a flick of his wrist, he had tossed Sora out the window.

Rage had built within Riku and he had jumped from his position on the floor and tackled his brother. His fist were clenched around his brother's shirt and half of his sibling was hanging out the window. Riku was screaming incoherent words and his brother just watched him, smiling. Riku was shaking him, spitting because he was screaming and yelling so much.

And the only words he remembered saying were 'I outta throw you out the window..'

Sora awoke with a start and gazed around the bedroom. It was dark and the ticking of a nearby clock was all that could be heard. His head pained him and his cheek hurt - probably from where he had gotten hit. The brunet lay on the bed, staring up at the ceiling and wondering where he was and how he got there and where was Cloud. More importantly, where were their parents? Only bits of what happened were registering in his mind and he was trying to piece together the past.

"Cloud.." he called out, finding that his throat was dry. For the first time, he noticed he was half naked. Only garbed in his blue boxers.

The brunet yanked the blankets off of himself and stood. Feeling blinded, he felt his way around the darkened room, touching the walls and looking for a light switch. Upon finding one, he flicked it on and immediately realized he was in Leon's bedroom. He should've known; the darkness, the ticking of the clock, the dark green bedcovers.

Sora opened the door and walked out, his arms wrapping around his chest as he realized how cold he was. It was summer though, wasn't it? Of course Leon had the AC pumping throughout the house.

"Cloud? Squall?" the brunet called as he walked into the living room. Squall lived in a one story house. In fact, he could've gotten by with living in a one room apartment. He was a lone man, no girlfriend or boyfriend.. Sora was beginning to suspect that maybe Leon was asexual.

The living room was just as dark, so he hit the light switch on the right side of the wall. The lights flickered on and he heard a mutter, a curse, and then a tired yawn. He smiled, his lips curving upward slightly. Cloud was sleeping on the couch, curled up like a small kitten.

Sora bounded over to his brother and kissed his lips briefly, "Cloud. Wake up. I know it's late, but.." there was so much to explain, wasn't there? Sora wanted details of their adventure.

"Mm.. Sora?" the blond youth rubbed his eyes and sat up on the couch, patting the seat next to him. Sora obliged and cuddled up next to his brother, wrapping the dark green blanket around both of them. After all, the smaller boy was kind of cold.

"When are we going home?" that was the first question on Sora's mind.

"Never."

"Never?" a frown and a pout.

"Well.. Never's a long time. Soon, maybe.. I don't know. I don't want to talk about home right now." Cloud snaked an arm around Sora's shoulders and pulled the boy close. The younger one gladly accepted the warmth his older brother was giving off.

"Oh.. Ok.."

They were silent for a long time. Sora cuddled into the embrace and gave Cloud's chest a small lick. He was displeased to find that the older boy tensed, relaxed, and then looked away from him. He pouted and crawled onto his brother's lap, curling himself up and sitting on the Cloud's legs. Sora buried his face against the blond's neck and Cloud had begun to pet the younger boy, eliciting soft noises from the brunet.

"How's your head feel?"

"It hurts, but it's ok. My face hurts too." the brunet let his tongue flicker out and he placed a loving lick on the elder's neck. "I have bandages on my head, don't I? I remember bleeding, but.. After that, not so much. I remember you carrying me and... saying something about mom and dad and..." he trailed off, taking notice that Cloud didn't seem like he was listening.

"Hey, Cloud." he sat up, purposefully shifting and rubbing against the other's groin. "You ok? You seem bothered."

The older one was still petting Sora, his fingers sliding easily through the spiky locks of hair. He sighed and shook his head, his lips connecting to Sora's for a few brief seconds. Cloud's attention to Sora was waning and the brunet could tell. It bothered him and he knew that he should back off of Cloud for a while..

"I'm going to go back to bed after I get a drink of water." Sora hopped off of Cloud's lap and the older boy felt a sudden emptiness in his chest. He had wanted Sora to go away and now it was bothering him. His heart burned.

"Sora," the brunet turned and looked at his brother. The younger sibling had taken the dark green blanket with him. It was draped about his shoulders and he looked like a childish prince. "um.. Sleep with me?"

A grin spread across his features and he nodded eagerly, "yea. I'll be right back." and he stalked off into the kitchen, taking the beautiful green blanket with him.

Riku rubbed his forehead. His eyes were sore because he hadn't been able to get any sleep. His brother and his kitten. The scene kept running through his mind and he was finding it harder and harder to concentrate on his work. He ran a hand through his hair, irritation blazing in his aquamarine eyes.

"Goddamnit." he cursed and threw his pen down. His hands went straight to his eyes because they itched something fierce.

"Something the matter?" Kairi had walked into the room to see Riku throw his pen down irritably. "Something you'd like to talk about, perhaps?"

Riku looked up at Kairi, a smile playing on his lips. He shook his head and stood up from his desk. "No. I'm alright. I'm just tired. I didn't get a lot of sleep last night.." he shuffled some papers into a neat pile and then crammed them into the front drawer of his desk, "I had nightmares and Lord knows I haven't had those in a long time."

"Childhood memories?" Kairi leaned against the doorway.

He looked up, his mouth hanging open slightly and his eyes sort of glazed over, "yes. How did you..?"

She shrugged her small shoulders and stood up straight. Kairi reached up and twirled a strand of hair around her finger, "Sora seems... to bring out the worst in some of us.." and with that said, she walked out of the room.

Riku eyed the spot Kairi had just been standing in and ran another hand through his hair. Now he remembered. Sora had treated Kairi like a slave and she yelled at him, screamed at the boy and refused to serve him now. Of course, she apologized for getting out of control, but Riku assigned a new nurse for Sora anyway. His name was Roxas.

Riku grabbed the pen he had thrown aside and placed it in his pocket. He had a meeting with Sora today, who... seemed to be doing a little better. Or maybe that was just an act. Riku didn't know, he hardly ever saw Sora. But he did know that the brunet tried to escape quite a few times. Whether it was really Sora escaping or Riku escaping.. Riku didn't know.

The doctor walked down the hallway, his head held high and his long, silver hair wavering behind him. He opened Sora's door and noticed he was laying in a hospital bed. Kairi had said they had to move Sora to a room with a very small window (and lower to the ground) to keep him from hurting himself. After all, he had broken his arm jumping out of the window, trying to escape from this place.

Riku's thoughts went back to his kitten. Sora, the magnificent kitty cat who had been mercilessly tossed out a window. His head hurt and he found himself rubbing his eyes again, this time to keep himself from crying. He thought he had successfully suppressed that particular memory, but it was rearing it's ugly head once more.

"Good afternoon, Sora. How's your arm?"

"Hi." he was staring out at the window, his eyes glazed, "it hurts."

"Mm.. We won't try jumping out of the window again, now will we?" Sora looked at Riku and gave a soft smile. The brunet reached out and touched the doctor's face, stroking his cheek softly for a brief moment.

Riku's cheeks were pink from the tender contact, "ah.." he was surprised to find he wanted Sora to touch him again, "w-well.. How's.. Riku?"

"You tell me." Sora was gazing out the window again, "how are you?" the brunet was crawling out of his bed, leaning on the side so that his and Riku's faces were close.

"Fine.." his face was pink and he wanted Sora to work with him.. But now he was being seduced by a boy with a broken arm and mental problems. "S-Sora.." he reached a hand out and touched the other's cheek, "I know you.. From somewhere, don't I?"

The brunet had gotten off of his bed now and was sitting on Riku's lap, curling up and wrapping his arms around the other's neck. This was the sort of thing Sora would do to Cloud, to get attention or ... perhaps something else.

"Maybe.." truthfully, Sora knew the answer. They had meant, once. But Sora had suppressed that memory and so had Riku. It was an awful meeting.. And after that one meeting, they never saw each other again until now...

But did it really matter anyway?

"Sora, we really shouldn't be doing this.." Riku was cut short as Sora rubbed against his groin. The doctor let out a sudden breath and grabbed the younger boy by his hips. He stood, placing Sora down. This was wrong. They really shouldn't.

"Riku.." Sora traced the other's lips with his index finger, "we did meet once... If you think about it, maybe you'll remember too.." he drew his hand back and pressed his lips to his doctor's own.

It was a short kiss, but Riku found it to be strangely arousing. Sora's lips were so soft and his body was so smooth.. Everything about the brunet was soft and gentle and... It drove Riku wild.. But how could it? They were ages apart. Riku was a doctor, Sora was his patient.

Sora had inappropriate relationships with his brother. Riku was a successful workingman attempting to heal people. And didn't Sora still love Cloud..?

"Stop." he pushed Sora away. The younger boy had started to shove his hands inside Riku's shirt, feeling ever muscle and every twitch. It drove Riku wild, but they had to stop.

Sora was obedient. He did stop. And once he did, Riku left in a hurry. He was hot and bothered and his pants were beginning to feel a little tight and how would that look? How would that look to the staff? And Kairi? She knew he hadn't had a man in years..

Cloud lay on a chair in Dr. Gainsborough's office. She was writing something down on a piece of paper and Cloud noted how pretty she looked sitting there. She looked intelligent, she looked tough. She looked like she could take down four grown men without breaking a sweat..

"Mr. Strife.. I see we scheduled another session for today?" she put whatever she was writing into her desk and clicked her pen closed. Dr. Gainsborough intertwined her fingers and focused all of her attention on the man in front of her.

"Yes. I skipped our last one. I'm sorry.. I just.." he stopped, shrugged and didn't speak again. It was hard for him to admit all of his feelings to someone he hardly knew. He had skipped the last appointment because he was afraid of what she might think of him.

"It's alright, you don't have to worry about it, Cloud. I'm glad you showed up for this appointment. It's important that I know the details of your childhood. I want to help you because by helping you, we might be able to help Sora. And you want to help Sora, don't you?"

Cloud felt defensive now. He felt as if he were being patronized and he shifted uneasily in his chair, "yes. Of course."

"Alright then.. Lets start from where we left off.. Your parents.." Dr. Gainsborough smiled pleasantly at him and Cloud felt his defense drop. What did it matter? She was trying to help him, not make a fool of him. Being in her office was too much like being in a confessional for his taste though.

"Like I said before, Sora's mother was my father.." he paused and sighed, "my father was a deadbeat and my mom left him right after I was born. I was a baby living on the streets with my dad.. I don't know how, but he got a wad of cash. He figured women got treated better, especially women with little babies, so he got a sex change."

Dr. Gainsborough had taken something out of her desk and was beginning to write things down. It made Cloud anxious.

"It worked out, I suppose. For him. I didn't know what was going on because I was little. Anyway, my dad - now my mom - got picked up by a guy. They got married and they had Sora. My dad - or mom - told me never to tell anyone about the sex change. Especially his... her.. Husband."

"And why not?" Dr. Gainsborough questioned.

"It was simple.. The guy my dad married didn't know my dad was a man. And if my step dad found out about my dad's sex change.. He'd literally kill my dad, Sora's mother.." Cloud looked at Dr. Gainsborough with serious, beautifully blue eyes.

"What became of your parents?"

".. Sora's dad killed my dad.. And Sora's dad is still in jail.."

Dr. Gainsborough said nothing for a while. She scribbled something down, frowned, and then sighed. "Do you mind if I ask how Sora's father found out about the sex change?"

Cloud shifted, uneasy now. He looked at his psychiatrist with heart-breaking eyes and she immediately understood. He could never bring himself to say it, but he was the one who told. Cloud had helped in killing his own father..

A crowd had gathered outside of the apartment building. Some of the people were pointing to the two boys (who were almost half-hanging out the window) while others were staring at the small black and white kitten who was hanging from a windowsill eleven floors above the ground; just under Riku and his brother.

The boys had left the window now and all eyes were on the small kitten. Someone had called the fire department while others were waiting for the kitten to fall. There was a throng of people in front of the building and if the kitten fell, they'd be there to catch it. Nobody felt like scraping a kitten off the sidewalk today.

Sora and Cloud (who had been walking by on their way home from school) looked at the crowd of people. They saw the kitchen hanging from the windowsill and Cloud couldn't help but give a little laugh. Sora frowned at him.

"Poor kitty. Wonder how it happened."

Cloud shrugged and grasped Sora's wrist, pulling him towards the front of the crowd. They stood on the outside of the mob of people and cast their gazes upwards. A fire truck had showed up and the ladder was being extended. They were actually going to save the kitten.

Within the next five minutes, the crowd had disappeared and everyone had gone back to their own business. The kitten had been saved. Sora and Cloud still stood on the sidewalk, watching the firemen and women. Sora smiled and waved to the women who had been on the ladder and she waved back.

"Come on, Sora. We need to get home.." Cloud grabbed the other's arm gently.

"Whoa, hold on." Sora wiggled lose from Cloud's grasp and ran over to the firemen and their truck. He walked over to the women who was holding the kitten and a brief discussion seemed to take hold between them. Cloud raised a blond brow.

"Ok. Lets go." the brunet, in his arms, held a small, black and white kitten who was purring with content.

"For an animal that was about to die.." Cloud reached out and rubbed it's ears, "it sure seems happy."

Sora gave the kitten a squeeze, "it's name is Riku."

And the cat seemed to purr louder at hearing it's master's name.

Author's Note: Eight pages of steaming, hot fanfiction! Chapter eight of Pachinko! Sorry for the long-ass wait. I hope I still have some faithful fans out there. If not, someone better round me up some new ones. Look for updates and new stories. And until then, just... review this one.